Organic Foods Make Elegant Meals

"MCLEAN, Va. -- It might be a surprise to find an elegant holiday menu emerging from a corporate kitchen, much less one that emphasizes local, seasonal ingredients and organic poultry.

For executive chef Matthew Crudder, who oversees the cafe and dining rooms at Gannett Co. Inc.'s corporate headquarters in McLean, Va., it's a typical offering, though maybe one that's smaller in scale than usual. He works every day to provide dishes made with as many local, organic and sustainable ingredients as possible. His company, food service provider Sodexho, has been named a worldwide leader in those efforts.

Crudder gives turkey cutlets a twist on tradition and extra flavor with warm spices like cumin, coriander and cinnamon, then sautes them with apples, oyster mushrooms and sage. They're accompanied by stuffed acorn squash rings with a curry kick. "It mimics the traditional spices of the season but it has a nice new accent to it," Crudder says. Cranberry-pomegranate relish adds color and a sweet-tart contrast."

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